voodoo lily...cobra I believe

battilanaqueenFebruary 3, 2007

I looked at several pictures and I will call this a cobra because of the type stalk. It looks like snake skin.

It is time to separate the babies and I have no idea how. I dug up the bulb and it has two tubes growing from it. How do I remove them to start two more plants? Not sure if I just break them off or cut the tips off.

You have a couple of options for dividing amorphophallus plants. First thing, you should be absolutely sure that there are no more bulblets hidden in the soil. I grew one on in a pot of aloes last year without even realizing it because I did not check the soil before repotting with it.
Next, find where the rhizome connects to the parent bulb. Use a sharp knife or clippers and sever the rhizome. Try not to cut the bulb. The bulblet will survive and the rhizome will shrivel.

I HIGHLY recomment using gloves of some kind. I got some nasty burns from unpotting mine last fall without gloves.

Okay, now I have another question after I looked at my bulb closely. My bulb is basically slick (other that having like little tits all over it) until I get to the rhizome. It basically has a small knott on the bulb and the rhizome grows from that knott, which at the tip or the rhizome is another knott and it is starting to bud. Do I cut at the bottom of the rhizome leaving the knott on the big bulb.

A pic would be an excellent idea--I'm a LOT confused! If you can't post a picture (I can't, so don't feel too bad!) try looking at the pictures on a good site like Plant Delights nursery, or ask for more recommendations. Maybe you can find a picture of yours, and then ask questions about how to treat it. There are so many that could be what you talk about. I first fell in love with something I later learned was an amorphophallus, but the owner only knew as a voodoo lily--I ordered everything I could find by that name until I finally found out what it was--not which species though. Still trying to get the right one! You could also be thinking of arisaema, and PDN has pictures of those too. They are often called cobra lilies I think.